When is a euro not a euro? When it's an eiro

Latvia has picked a linguistic row with its European partners about how to spell the word 'euro' in a language with no way to spell 'eu'.

Many hours of wrangling between ministers and officials in Brussels and Riga have failed to resolve the question of whether the Baltic state can refer to the single currency, which it hopes to adopt in 2008, as the 'eiro' (pronounced 'aero'), in official documents.

Latvia, which joined the EU in 2004 along with nine other new members, is not claiming the right to use the variant spelling on its notes and coins - just in official documents, such as translations of Brussels legislation into Latvian.

'It's not easy to write in Latvian the name of the euro, because we do not have this sound, "eu,"' explained a spokeswoman for the Latvian government. But the European Central Bank has advised the Commission to stand firm, pointing to EU regulations which say: 'The name of the euro needs to be identical in the nominative singular case in all community languages to ensure that its singleness is apparent.'

Language is a contentious political issue in Latvia, which is asserting its national identity after years as a satellite state of Russia.

Malta and Slovenia had also suggested their own variant spellings of the single currency's name - ewro and evro respectively - but they have both caved in to the wishes of their fellow members. Greece is allowed to spell it evro - but only because it has a different alphabet from other EU members.